Press release: 2040 Climate trajectory requires urgent action on policy enablers

Brussels, 2 July 2025 -  As the European Union debates its 2040 climate trajectory, IOGP Europe welcomes the inclusion of the principles of technology neutrality, flexibility, and cost efficiency in the European Commission’s proposal. We nevertheless underline that key policy enablers to support the role and deployment of all promising carbon abatement technologies are still missing. This puts Europe’s resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability goals at risk.

"Our industry remains ready to invest in the energy and decarbonization solutions needed to succeed in 2040 and 2050. We see promising political signals towards more pragmatism and technology neutrality, but they have yet to materialize across the regulatory framework. Member States must have the flexibility to choose the most cost-effective solutions to achieve their transitions, including gas for grid balancing”. François-Régis Mouton, Managing Director, IOGP Europe. 

Despite improvements over earlier drafts, the final National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) still fall short of meeting the 2030 targets. The EU must adopt realistic, evidence-based assessments of energy and climate policies, considering their cost, effectiveness, and impact on industrial competitiveness and citizens.

To achieve climate goals without undermining economic resilience, a broader mix of decarbonization pathways should be supported through technology-neutral policies. We call on the EU to embrace a market-driven, technology-neutral approach across legislation and funding instruments to secure affordable, competitive energy while advancing climate objectives.

To maximize the EU’s chances to meet its climate ambitions, IOGP Europe puts forward the following recommendations:

1. Support technology-neutral approach: A revision of the Hydrogen Strategy should give all viable low-carbon solutions the opportunity to compete on a level playing field and support industrial decarbonization.
2. Lift barriers to the deployment of low-carbon technologies: Carbon contracts for difference can help scale up Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project development, while the production of low-carbon hydrogen production should be encouraged based on real-world performance, not default values which artificially inflate emission profiles.
3. Improve permitting and financing frameworks to overcome hurdles across the energy sector: Streamlining approval processes and bridging funding gaps is critical to remove deployment bottlenecks.
4. Stimulate demand for low-carbon products: Creating a functional market for low-carbon products is essential to create investment certainty. Market-based mechanisms are crucial to create demand to absorb the green premium.
5. Focus beyond the headline targets: The 90% target is known - efforts must shift to implementation and early coordination between Member States and EU policymakers to ensure achievable, grounded policy frameworks.

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